Slideshow: LEDs Rock the House

From NIN to Radiohead, performers are trading in pyrotechnics for LED F/X

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ROCK GOD, LED GEEK: Trent Reznor [center at microphone] of Nine Inch Nails performs live during his 2008 "Lights in the Sky" tour. Video screens behind the band show surveillance camera footage of the venue. < Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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THREE-SCREEN LED SHOW: On stage, three screens of light-emitting diodes are used to illuminate the stage and create special effects. The screens contain LED pixels in red, blue, and green; the lights can be flashed in combinations to create colors, including white.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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LED F/X: At various points in the show, the band performs behind a transparent or ”stealth” screen of LED pixels. Pixels on the front screen are selectively illuminated to create visual effects, such as the foglike scene shown here.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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CAGED ON STAGE: As the band plays behind the stealth screen, the lights are sometimes left unlit to achieve a cagelike effect.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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A DIY ROCK STAR: Reznor stands before one of the LED pixel screens. A self-taught coder and self-described geek, Reznor takes a hands-on approach to customizing the technology that drives his live performances.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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PEEK-A-BAND: Nine Inch Nails performs in shadows behind the front stealth screen. The idea was to be able to ”see through screens,” as Reznor puts it, and create something ”we could afford to take out.”< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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JAMMING WITH REZNOR: Reznor records and performs under the name Nine Inch Nails, but he also goes out on the road backed by other musicians, including the two pictured here, for live shows.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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THE TUBES: Tubes of light like the ones shown here are manufactured by Element Labs, based in Santa Clara, Calif. The tubes can be arranged in vertical strips as high as 30 feet, or over 9 meters, measuring 30 feet high.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com

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ARE YOU LEDPERIENCED: ”I realized that having the right visuals can act as an anchor and allows us to play music that we couldn’t otherwise,” Reznor says. He hopes to use this technology to create an ambitious live performance similar to Pink Floyd’s epic, The Wall.< Photo: Rob Sheridan/nin.com